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LAST DANCE, LAST CHANCE - and Other True Cases

(Crime Files #8)

Ann Rule

3.98 · Rating details · 2,425 ratings · 108 reviews

ANOTHER GREAT ANN RULE MYSTERY NOVEL

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Paperback, 463 pages

Published January 2003 by Pocket Books (first published March 9th 2001)

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Feb 01, 2019 jv poore rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, own-it, crime

At the end of the first story, I noticed the criminal was up for parole in 2019. Based on what Ms. Rule has taught me, I expected he'd gotten out earlier and was curious, so I googled his name.

Yes, he did get out early and yes, he's already been found to have committed the exact same crime in at least two different states since his release, although there don't appear to be any pending charges. I find that a bit disconcerting. ...more

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Jan 01, 2017 Katherine Addison rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, essays, true-crime, kill-me-twice-shame-on-me

*"Last Dance, Last Chance": Buffalo NY 1999: Anthony Pignataro capped off a long and despicable history of medical malfeasance by attempting to murder his wife as part of a convoluted plot to clear himself of culpability in the death of a woman who came to him for breast-augmentation surgery. Despite the phenomenal amount of arsenic Deborah Pignataro's doctors found in her system, some twenty times the naturally-occurring rate of arsenic in the human body, she survived. Pignataro pled guilty and *"Last Dance, Last Chance": Buffalo NY 1999: Anthony Pignataro capped off a long and despicable history of medical malfeasance by attempting to murder his wife as part of a convoluted plot to clear himself of culpability in the death of a woman who came to him for breast-augmentation surgery. Despite the phenomenal amount of arsenic Deborah Pignataro's doctors found in her system, some twenty times the naturally-occurring rate of arsenic in the human body, she survived. Pignataro pled guilty and was paroled in 2013.
*"The Accountant": In Seattle in 1948, Jack Gasser murdered Donna Woodcock (beaten, raped, strangled with her own bra, and sexually mutilated after death). Sentenced to life without possibility of parole, he was nevertheless paroled in 1962. He violated his parole in 1964 and was sent back to prison, then was paroled again in 1969. Got an accounting degree; got a job as a state auditor, traveling around Washington state; got married. Got divorced in 1981. Murdered another woman in 1982. (And as Rule points out, there are plenty of unsolved murders between 1969 and 1982 that might be his work as well.) As of 2003, he was 74 and still imprisoned.
*"The Killer Who Begged to Die": James Elledge beat a motel owner to death with a ballpeen hammer in 1974. He was paroled and reincarcerated, paroled and reincarcerated, paroled for the last time in 1995 and murdered again in 1998. He said there was something evil in him that he couldn't control. He refused to allow his defense attorney to argue against the death penalty and refused to allow him to file appeals. Elledge died by lethal injection in 2001.
*"The Beach": Moclips WA 1975: William Batten picked up two girls hitchhiking, took them to Moclips, then that night found them where they were camping on the beach and murdered them. He was caught partially because of the knots he used to tie their hands, which were exactly the same as the knots he'd used eight years previously when he kidnapped several young boys, tied them to trees, and threatened to castrate them. (He was sent to Western Washington State Hospital's sexual psychopath program and "released shortly thereafter." Rule's had things to say about the culpable negligence of that particular program in earlier books in her Crime Files series.)
*"The Desperate Hours": Kent WA 1963: man murders his girlfriend's mother because he thinks she's broken up their relationship, murders his best friend in order to steal his car (which then doesn't start), then invades the home of a woman alone with her three small children, kidnaps her, forces her to drive him to his brother's house, then when the brother (not realizing that the poor woman is a captive) refuses to help, forces her to keep driving him until law-enforcement officers mercifully force them off the road. Psychiatrists argued about whether he was psychotic, schizophrenic, sociopathic, and whether he was or was not legally sane. He was found sane and guilty and sentenced to death in 1971. The death sentence was commuted to life, and the "life" sentence, as per usual, fell a fair ways short. He was paroled in 1991. ...more

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Jul 07, 2017 Jim Thomas rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2017

Rule hits another one out of the park!

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Apr 19, 2019 J.H. Moncrieff rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Good, solid Ann Rule classic of true crime cases. This volume has one story that takes up about half the book, and then several shorter stories.

Though I'm sure she didn't have a choice in the matter, one thing I don't understand is why the convicted criminals' names were changed to protect their identities, especially since they were murderers and repeat offenders. They also weren't pictured most of the time. I think once you've committed that kind of crime, your right to privacy is outweighed b ...more

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Oct 29, 2013 Jill Hutchinson rated it liked it · review of another edition

A so-so read from Ann Rule who is America's foremost writer of true crime. This book is made up of one novelette and three short stories. This novelette, Last Dance, Last Chance save this book from getting a lower rating. It is the chilling story of a doctor who is a total charlatan, loses his license and then decides to poison his loving wife for a rather obscure reason. Not a case I have heard of but it is interesting enough to hold your interest. The rest of the book reads like a series of ma ...more

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Mar 20, 2009 Jan Sydnam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Ann Rule is always captivating in her story telling. She takes your mind and emotions with her into the thick darkness of the criminal world. Her books are hard to put down once you start. As the victim's in the story start running, you, the reader start breathing harder as well. ...more

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Jul 11, 2016 Jason rated it it was amazing

It's been a while since I've read anything by Anne Rule, now I remember why. She writes of these criminals and their victims so vividly that they get into your head. I need to get them out now! ...more

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Sep 12, 2020 Ripp rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Vol. 8 of Ann Rule's Crime Files Books, which was centered around infamous Brooklyn-based plastic surgeon and his wife. No, it's not your serial killer story. It's quite dragging, focusing more on the struggles of the victimized wife (the author's trademark). The book contains 4 more short stories and one thing about all of these stories is, the perpetrators are still alive and some are already out there living with us. ...more

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Nov 16, 2013 Jen Mays rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ann Rule provides a detailed run down of one attempted murder case in New York in which an arrogant doctor tries to remove his wife from his life through slow and constant poisoning by arsenic. This was on top of a lifetime of using and abusing his relationships in every attempt to advance himself. Shortcuts were the name of the game for the guy, and any kind of criticism or humiliation was clearly incorrect and misplaced in his mind. His arrogance leads to the death of a patient in his office a ...more

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Jul 24, 2013 Alisi ☆ wants to read too many books ☆ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, true-crime, audiobook

Very enjoyable. The first story reminded me of this of Stalin and his son before WWII.

Apparently, Stalin was a horrific father. He had at least three kids, two boys and a girl. The girl fled to America and the boys were killed in WWII.

However, before WWII broke out, one of his sons decided to kill him. Why? Ah, hell! Come on! Why wouldn't he want to? There's just too much to write on that topic.

This was his first of two attempts. The later attempt succeeded (because suicide is much more preferab ...more

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Oct 04, 2017 Judy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Your basic Ann Rule story where she writes her characters so well and vividly you feel like you know them. The main story was quite chilling, but not in a macabre sense. What made it so frightening is that Tony Pignataro was a practicing doctor (and now we know why them call them 'practicing' because it turns out we're all guinea pigs) who used his authority as a doctor to do whatever medical procedure he pleased whether he knew how to or not. His surgical standards were nowhere near code yet he ...more

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Jul 04, 2008 Christie Stockstill rated it liked it · review of another edition

You probably already know that Rule writes true crime stories. Last Dance... contains about 5 stories. SAdly, as a somewhat desensitized, modern American, the stories don't stack up against other horrific thrillers, until you remember that you are reading about actual killers and actual victims. Then, it becomes a bit disturbing. I haven't read any other Ann Rule books, although someone gave me two more of her books, but I suspect she has better books out there than this. ...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Falina rated it liked it

I don't know why I like true crime, and I don't think Ann Rule is a good writer, but there's something really enjoyable about reading these "Crime Files" books. Maybe it's similar to that morbid fascination that makes one slow down and look for blood when passing by a car accident. ...more

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Jan 31, 2016 CatBookMom rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-2016, ebook-borrowed, finished-2018, nonfic-true-crime

This was more interesting than the usual anthology, partly because a couple of the stories took place in locations and times that have links to my husband's life. The main story, about a criminally incompetent doctor, is fascinating. ...more

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Jun 22, 2009 Amy rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-we-own

I thought Last Dance Last Chance was boring. The only part that I thought was somewhat interesting were the short stories at the very end.

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Nov 27, 2020 Michael Greer rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"guns don't kill people, but cosmetic surgery often does."

Social Selection Theory postulates that each individual enters the social order with a specific set of attributes which distinguish him or her from all others. This is the basic postulate from which all other conclusions may be derived. To illustrate how this works, let us set one Anthony Pignataro in motion. We trace these movements from his conviction-"Anthony Pignataro was the first medical doctor in the region's history to be convict "guns don't kill people, but cosmetic surgery often does."

Social Selection Theory postulates that each individual enters the social order with a specific set of attributes which distinguish him or her from all others. This is the basic postulate from which all other conclusions may be derived. To illustrate how this works, let us set one Anthony Pignataro in motion. We trace these movements from his conviction-"Anthony Pignataro was the first medical doctor in the region's history to be convicted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide"(Rule, page 150)-to his entrance in the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, New York. Currently this detention facility holds over 800 inmates under the paternal gaze of Timothy Howard, Sheriff. At this time you find that Erie County Correctional Facility is a "New Generation" detention center with open bays, pods, and rows of brightly colored cell doors, lending a light flavor to the surroundings. The emphasis on empty space encourages inmates to consider their privileges and freedoms, though restricted in scope.

"Anthony was used to the best in life, and he considered himself in the upper echelon of society, both in terms of intelligence and in breeding."

Apparently entering the jail system was a shock and a blow to his self-esteem. He didn't "technically" belong in such an environment; he was too good for prison. Now, perhaps for the first time in his life "he was forced to mingle with people he never associated with before." (Rule, page 150) For Anthony there were two categories of people, patients, people who might or might not be in his class, and peers, people who were accustomed to living the way he was. The cold prison walls required a new set of calculations: he would survive, but it would require calling up his reserves in social charm.

Immediately upon entering the prison/jail system, Anthony's only thoughts, far from remorse for his crimes, was speculation that he would soon be a target. Little did he understand that Anthony was now "a pigeon to be plucked." (Rule, page 151)

As Social Selection Theory requires, when individuals of different attributes meet in a 'common area' they formulate hypotheses about the unknown Other. For the African-American inmates, with their focus on hair style, Anthony was awarded with the honorific "Frankenstein" because of the bolts on display in his head, since wearing a toupee in prison was against regulations. Just as the fantasmagoria of the African-American imagination required invention, so did Anthony's reception of the kindness shown by another inmate, Arnie, who Anthony viewed as "my guardian angel."

As any reader can see, Social Selection Theory is the groundwork for exploring/analyzing/explaining the legions of mythical entities created by the human mind. When an individual finds himself/herself in the wrong/place/wrong/time, the mind generates through its defensive posture a new set of attributes to stabilize the inherent instability of awkwardness. ...more

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Sep 07, 2017 Laura Leilani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

You just can't make stuff like this up; no one would believe it! The novella is about a man from an upper middle class family who wanted to be a Dr. Since he couldn't do it the traditional way, he did it himself. He printed up his own diplomas and accreditations, opened a clinic where he did surgeries in the basement. He was successful, if by that you mean he drove a Lamborghini. However the basement surgery room had nothing in case a patient went into crisis. Not a smart move, considering no th ...more

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Sep 24, 2019 Melissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“In a sense, all my stories are about liars. Some of the killers I write about have lied all their lives, and some have lied only to throw their victims off balance so that they become vulnerable.”

I really feel like Ann Rule was the very best at writing true crime, and Last Dance, Last Chance was no exception to this. The main story followed a narcissistic doctor on his path of killing patients and eventually poisoning his wife. Anne Rule always does a great job at looking at the why’s of the ca ...more

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Jan 21, 2019 Ula rated it liked it · review of another edition

This is my 1st Ann Rule book, i haven’t been able to find A Stranger Beside Me at the library yet. I don’t really read true crime so it’s a first for that genre in general. I really liked the main story and the depth that she goes into each person involved. The smaller stories at the end could’ve been left off I think. Overall she has a really engaging way of writing that I enjoyed but I definitely need some unicorn chaser books in between.

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Jun 27, 2019 Stephan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Like all collections of murder tales, this book lays out the case of an untrained unlicensed "doctor" as he weaves a web of lies that ends up in medical deaths and malpractices lawsuits. When the "doctor's" wife starts suffering from unknown cases, is she being poisoned? Yes she is. The majority of the book is about that case while the remaining 50-100 pages cover various murder cases from the past.

Great read. ...more

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Aug 11, 2019 Delvia Alsina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As usual Ann Rule does an extraordinary writing of true crime. She does not leave anything out and makes you know the perpetrator well. The first story is about a narcissus doctor. This is the one people should read even if you don't want to read the three short ones. How a person who thinks he is God and blames everyone else for his life is totally insane... ...more

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Nov 20, 2017 Anne Brown rated it liked it · review of another edition

I've read many, many Ann Rule books but this wasn't one of my favorites. Not sure why - it just didn't grab me like other have. Also didn't care that much for the short cases at the end of the book in this one. Still an enjoyable read and I do love her writing style very much. ...more

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Jun 25, 2018 Aurora Dimitre rated it liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, of-course-kurt-cobain, huh, june-2018

This was interesting. It's my first Ann Rule book, and my first true crime that wasn't Columbine-centered, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go when I went in. But I liked it! It was a very easy read, but not dumbed down. It was pretty decent. ...more

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Aug 28, 2018 Turgut Yıldırım rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Real life crime story engagingly told.I guessed who done the evil but what interested me was how it was going to be revaled.That kept my curiosity all story long.On the other hand, story to be taken from real life really impressed me.

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Mar 25, 2020 Kayla rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This story was told incredibly well and the reader truly felt like they knew the people throughout. My heart feels for all the families who were tragically impacted by Anthony. Highly recommend this eye opening story.

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May 01, 2018 Huguette Larochelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

my favorite author . true stories. and she know how to writ it.
some hardcore criminal out there

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Sep 24, 2018 Caroline rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Phew, I picked this book up at a market, thinking I would try something different. And I loved it. The stories really suck you in. In my next life, I want to be a crime researcher!

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Oct 06, 2018 Deanne Smithey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Ann Rule knows how to draw you in to her cases of true crime.

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Dec 23, 2018 Josh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Perhaps belabors details at some points. Fun story.

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Feb 06, 2019 Monica rated it it was ok · review of another edition

it took me only a day to read. Everyone I talk to says they love to read her but she and I are not on the same page. I did a lot of yawning and napping during this book.

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About Ann Rule

Ann Rule

2,948 followers

Ann Rule was a popular American true crime writer. Raised in a law enforcement and criminal justice system environment, she grew up wanting to work in law enforcement herself. She was a former Seattle Policewoman and was well educated in psychology and criminology.

She came to prominence with her first book, The Stranger Beside Me, about the Ted Bundy murders. At the time she started researching th ...more